Hey there everyone! Sorry if I haven't updated this in months, but I had good reasons to do it... one of them was that I had to rewrite the whole chapter because of a computer virus that obliterated the original one, when I was about to finish it. Second, in case you don't know, Ashley Tisdale got married on September 8 (which is also my birthday, xDDD) and well, I wanted to dedicate this chapter to her, wishing that she'll be very happy. So, before we go on, let me raise my glass and here's to you, Ashley!

And now, back to our original broadcast...

Chapter 14: Finding Trinity

On the day before arriving to Dublin, the whole gang got together after classes and began to plan what they were going to do when they disembarked.

Thanks to the three-page long report about the city of Ireland that they had been assigned to do by the teachers, they all had a pretty good idea of where to go, when to go, how to get there and what to see when you got there. Zack, as he wrote the report, thought to himself that that was probably the very first time doing homework paid off entirely.

"So, we have everything set for the first day." –Mark stated.

"Indeed." –Max said.

"Timing is everything, at least when it comes to getting out of the ship. I don't know about you, but I don't want to get stuck on the ship more than I have to." –Anastasia declared. –"That's why we need to get up early and be ready for when the ship docks."

"Okay, the ship docks at 8 a.m., and according to what Moseby told me, the doors will open at exactly 30 minutes after the ship docks. So, synchronize your watches, because we have to be on the main hall of Luna Deck at exactly 8 o'clock." –London explained them.

"By the way, will we be dining in the city, or do we come back to the ship to have dinner?" –Cody asked.

"Well, we can try and find a place to have dinner in town." –Maddie suggested. –"That way we'll have the chance to taste the local gastronomy, and we can explore a little longer. I'm sure your parents won't mind if you skip dinner and come back a little later." –she referred to the twins' mom and of course, to Mark's dad and Anastasia's mom.

"Are you kidding? My dad will probably spend tomorrow writing the last chapter of his new novel… he'll be so busy, he'll hardly notice I'm gone." –Mark laughed.

"My mom will probably spend her time calling me, trying to know where I am and all that, but I'll deal with that." –Anastasia said.

"As long as we're with you, our mom won't worry about us." –Cody told them.

"After all, you are our favourite babysitter." –Zack laughed, remembering the times she babysit them and the troubles they got her on.

"Favourite, and probably only, because you two managed to drive people crazy." –Maddie also laughed. Even though they got her into trouble, they had had good times too.

The S.S. Tipton spotted the coast of Ireland during dawn, and by the time Maddie and London woke up, they were standing a few miles from the mouth of the River Liffey, awaiting for the captaincy to send someone who knew the mouth of the river, in order to pilot the ship safely until the docking harbour. The sun had already risen on the horizon, lifting the covers of the night; but morning was anything but beautiful on that particular day. The sky was cloudy and it looked like it was windy too.

"We'll be lucky if it doesn't start raining." –Maddie sighed, as she looked out the window and saw the weather outside.

"Don't worry, I checked the weather forecast last night, it's not going to rain. But we're going to need clothes that protect us from the wind." –London told Maddie.

"Indeed." –Maddie said, as she placed herself behind London, wrapping her arms around the heiress's chest, gently squeezing it. This made London let out a slight moan, as the blonde started to kiss her on the neck. –"But let's worry about it after our shower. You coming?" –she asked playfully, as she dragged London with her to the bathroom.

"Would I miss taking a shower with you?" –the heiress said in a low, playful tone, as they entered the bathroom and closed the door behind them.

As Blondie and Princess woke up, the same happened with the rest of the gang and pretty much everyone that was sleeping on the ship. On the Roman suite, Zack and Cody were being woken up by their mom.

"Come on, guys, time to wake up." –Carey knocked at their bedroom door.

As always none of them answered back, so Carey knocked once again and called them. Once more, they did not answer. They were sleeping like rocks. Opening their door, she turned on the light switch, and called them both, this time waking them up.

"Guys, come on, wake up. We're reaching Dublin." –Carey said, insisting on them waking up. They made her promise on the previous night to wake them up on time to meet the rest of the gang, and now, they refused to get out of their beds.

"Go away, mom… just five more minutes." –Zack begged her, putting his pillow over his head.

"Not even a single second, Zack. You don't want to be late, now do you?" –Carey asked him, signalling Cody, who was now rubbing out his eyes, trying to wake up, that she was going to need a little help. –"If you don't get out of bed, Cody and I will just force you."

"You wouldn't dare, mom." –Zack said with a sleepy and groggy voice.

"Wrong, young man… Cody, you know what to do."

Hearing that, Cody grabbed the covers and pulled them back, leaving Zack trembling with cold. Their room was actually warm, but having three blankets a sheet covering you; once removed, it feels like everything else is cold.

"Okay, okay, I'll get up… you didn't need to do that, you know?"

"On the contrary, if I hadn't told your brother to do this, you would sleep until noon." –Carey told him. –"Now, you too hurry up. Take a shower and get dressed, while I make you breakfast."

"Yes, mom." –Zack told, as she exited the room and went to the kitchen. –"You go first, Cody, I need a couple more minutes to wake up.

"Alright, but remember what will happen if you fall asleep…."

"I know, I know, mom will dump a bucket of cold water on my head." –Zack said, remembering the last time that happened.

After a nice and refreshing shower, not mentioning some playtime between them, London and Maddie exited the bathroom, ready for just about anything. Drying themselves, soon after, London called room service and ordered breakfast:

"I think I'm going to order croissants, toasts, fruit and juice. You okay with that?"

"Sure, but tell them this time to put some sugar on the juice, because last time it was a little bitter, sweetie." –Maddie warned London, as the heiress pressed the numbers on the phone.

Once that was done, it was time to choose what clothes they would be wearing on their first day in Dublin. It was then that Maddie had one of those brilliant ideas she usually has.

"I was wondering, what if we both wear something green? You know, in honour of Ireland?"

"You really love this country, don't you?" –London asked her, taking a seat on the bed next to Maddie, as she dried her hair with a towel.

"I sure do, I mean, let's face it, this is the country where my ancestors travelled from to America. I just wish we had more time to get to know the country itself." –Maddie sighed, as she moved in closer to London.

"Well, three days may not be much time, but we can still see some pretty cool things, and of course, get to know the famous Irish hospitality." –London stated.

"Indeed… you know, I haven't told the rest of our group, but there's a place I want to visit on our third day here. I was thinking of taking a train to Cork, and then head to Blarney, so we can visit the castle and the famous Blarney Stone. What do you think? Do you think they will like to tag along?"

"I don't see why. Sightseeing is always nice, and I've read somewhere that when visiting a town, you should always check the outskirts, for it's there that lie the best surprises for the tourists." –London declared. –"And even if they don't want to come, I'll go with you."

"Thanks, sweetie." –Maddie said, as she planted a peck on the Asian-brunette's lips. –"By the way, who's turn it is to choose our clothes?"

"Well, yesterday was yours, so today it's my turn. Do you trust my good taste in fashion to guide me through that enormous wardrobe to find you the perfect clothes for such an autumnal day, milady Madeline?" –London giggled, while talking just as if she was a lady from the 14th century.

"Why, of course, milady London. I trust in your fine taste and good judgement." –Maddie told London, also supporting a similar accent to the one the heiress used before.

Entering in the wardrobe, London already had a pretty good idea of what she was going to choose for them to wear on that particular day. For her, she chose a cream long-sleeved shirt, a Jade-green jacket, a mini-skirt from the same colour as the jacket, a pair of black high-heel boots and a green scarf. When it came to Maddie, the heiress chose for her a nice Shamrock-green t-shirt, a pair of jeans, a black leather jacket, a pair of shamrock-green Converse-All's. When it came to accessories, London chose a belt with an emerald and diamond incrusted four-leaf clover for Maddie, and for her, she chose a pair of emerald hairpins.

They had a light breakfast, since they planned on having a small brunch when they got to Dublin with the others. Grabbing their messenger bags, where in the previous night they put their cameras, their cell phones, their wallets, and of course the maps where they had flagged with a marker the places they were visiting, they entered the elevator.

"Hope we're not late." –Maddie said, a little worried with the hours.

"Nope, we're on schedule here. Let's see if the others aren't late either." –London said, as the elevator stopped and its doors opened.

When the elevator doors opened, the first thing the girls saw was their friends seated on a nearby bench, waiting for them. And to their great surprise, they had all decided to do the same thing the girls had agreed to do while in Ireland; they had decided to wear something green.

Waving at them, both the heiress and the candy-counter girl quickly looked at them from top to bottom.

Zack and Cody were wearing different clothes from one another. Zack was wearing a white t-shirt under a bottle-green hoodie, grey jeans and a pair of bottle-green tennis shoes. Cody on the other hand was wearing a light-green long-sleeve shirt under a navy-blue and Forest-green sleeveless pullover, black trousers and a pair of Oxford shoes.

Max and Barbara's styles contrasted against one another. Like Zack, Max decided to wear something more casual. She was wearing a Myrtle-green sweater, a pair of orange gym pants and a pair of black sneakers. As for Barbara, her style matched Cody's, with her wearing a Harlequin-green cardigan over a black shirt, a pair of cream Capri pants and black sandals.

Finally, there were Mark and Anastasia. He had decided to wear something casual on that day, so he was wearing a pine-green jersey, a pair of jeans and a pair of grey hiking-boots. As for Anastasia, she had decided to experiment a different style, by mixing her Goth clothes with a few Lolita clothes. She was wearing a black vinyl corset with pink lacing, black elbow-length gloves, a pink frilly mini-skirt, black and emerald-green striped stockings and a pair of stiletto-heel boots. Add the fact that she was wearing her hair in two pigtails and was wearing Goth make-up, and the result was unique to say the least. She looked like a human-size Monster High doll.

"Morning everyone!" –London and Maddie exclaimed in chorus.

"Hey, girls!" –they all exclaimed in unison.

"Looks like you had the same idea as we did." –Maddie said as she looked at their clothes in detail.

"Or the two of you had the same idea as we did." –Barbara playfully replied.

"Or perhaps we read each other's minds." –Maddie giggled.

"It's always a hypothesis." –Barbara playfully suggested.

"So, are we all set to go?" –Zack asked, as he looked at the hours on his wristwatch.

"Yep, we're as ready as we'll ever be." –Maddie said.

"I just I hope I brought enough euros for transportation and other small things." –London whispered to Maddie. She had withdrew from her safe a little bit more than 1000 euros in small bills of 20 and 50, as well as coins of 1 and 2 euros on the previous night from a safe they had in their suite; a safe that had been a complete secret to Maddie, before London showed it to her.

"I'm sure you did, Princess." –she whispered back in a playful tone, knowing fully well that whatever amount London had taken from the safe, it would prove more than enough; besides, she never went out without her credit cards. Than it occurred to Maddie if the rest of them had done the same. –"Oh, I almost forgot, did you guys exchanged a couple of dollars for euros?" –Maddie asked them.

"We did, don't worry." –Barbara said, pointing also to Max.

"Our mom made sure that we didn't forget to do that yesterday." –Cody said.

"Yeah, they don't accept dollars here, and as long as we stay in Europe, we have to get used to this money, since most of the countries we're visiting use it." –Anastasia said, as the elevator doors closed.

As it was expected, everyone, or almost everyone wanted to exit the ship in order to visit the city. Looking out the glass elevator, people on the main hall from K Deck, the Luna Deck, they all looked like a giant living mass that kept growing more and more as people practically squeezed themselves to gain access to it; and the gang found out how difficult that was. When the elevator doors opened, they had to literally push the persons in front of them, in order to get out of the elevator.

As they waited, the passengers felt a light tremor, signalling the ship had docked. Over the speakers, they heard that the ship was now immobilized, and that passengers could expect to disembark as soon as the doors opened, which would be in about fifteen minutes… fifteen long minutes.

"It's going to take us forever to get out of here. London, can't you do something, like letting us go to the front of the line, just because you're the owner's daughter?" –Zack asked her. –"I mean, what's the use of being the heiress of the Tipton Empire, if you don't take advantage of your status?"

"Sorry, smarty pants, but that's not going to happen. We'll just have to wait like everybody else. Besides, it wouldn't be fair."

"To whom?! The others?" –Zack asked.

"For starters, yeah, but also to you guys… I mean, I'm a billionaire, but none of my friends is. Let's suppose you were the billionaire around here and you had the opportunity to jump to the front of the line, but in order to do that, your friends would have to stay behind. You wouldn't like that, now would you."

"Well… maybe. Still, that's a what-if situation. You wouldn't let us stay here, while you went to the front of the line." –Zack told her.

"You're right I wouldn't, but I still won't take advantage of my social status."

"Well, I think that just sucks…"

"And I think it's a really noble thing to do. People shouldn't take advantage of others just because they're rich or powerful, Zack." –Maddie declared, proud of what London had just said to Zack. –"The world would be a better place, if there were more people like you, Princess."

"I guess you've just been served, bro." –Cody told his brother, smiling inwardly to himself. Zack was just asking for someone to teach him a lesson in good manners, and London did the job perfectly.

"Yeah, well, you can't always win." –Zack grumbled, upset with the fact that he lost the argument. Still, he would not hold a grudge against London; he was many thing, but if there was one thing he was not, was being vindictive. He quickly winked its left eye at London and Maddie, and smirked, showing everything was alright between them.

Finally, after waiting fifteen minutes, plus an extra ten minutes, the gang exited the cruiser. Looking at the time, they quickened their pace, as they climbed down the gangway. Already on dry land, they knew they had to walk even faster in order to keep up with their schedule.

Sighting a bus stop, they quickly crossed the street to the other side and were now waiting for a bus to take them to their first stop, Trinity College. A few minutes later the bus appeared. Just like the London red double-decker busses, Dublin's were similar, except instead of being completely red, these were yellow, with the bottom navy-blue, separated by a baby-blue stripe.

Waiting for their turn, they boarded the bus, paying their tickets to the bus driver. Climbing the stairs, they each took a seat on the upper decker. Taking out their cameras, Cody and Max instantly began to snap photos of both the gang, as well as everything they felt it was pretty or interesting enough to be photographed. At the same time, Mark opened his messenger bag, grabbed a guide book of the city of Dublin he bought a few days before and began to flip through its pages. As for Maddie, she took her camcorder from her messenger bag and got ready to start shooting what she would later name as her "Travel Diary". She wanted to show her family where she had been, not to mention to be able to relive those moments by watching the videos herself. Pointing the camera to herself, she pushed the record button and began to record.

"Hello there, Maddie here! We just arrived in Dublin, and although it's a rather cloudy and windy day, but other than that, it's okay. We are all super excited because we're on our away to our first stop in Dublin, Trinity College!" –Maddie exclaimed, as she turned the camera and pointed it to Mark, zooming in on him. –"Mark, does that book have anything on Trinity College?"

"Hey, there!" –Mark waved happily at the camera. –"And to answer your question, yes, there are a few pages dedicated exclusively to Trinity College."

"And what do they say?" –Maddie asked him.

"Let's see… Trinity College was, and I quote, formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin. It is the sole constituent college of the University of Dublin in Ireland. The college was founded in 1592 as the "mother" of a new university, modelled after the collegiate universities of Oxford and of Cambridge, but, unlike these, only one college was ever established; as such, the designations "Trinity College" and "University of Dublin" are usually synonymous for practical purposes. It is one of the seven ancient universities of Britain and Ireland, as well as Ireland's oldest university." –Mark told them. –"Not only that, but it was originally established outside the city walls of Dublin in the buildings of the dissolved Augustinian Priory of All Hallows. The university was set up in part to consolidate the rule of the Tudor monarchy in Ireland, and it was seen as the University of the Protestant Ascendancy for much of its history. Although Catholics and Dissenters had been permitted to enter as early as 1793, certain restrictions on their membership of the college remained until 1873, and the Catholic Church in Ireland forbade its adherents, without permission from their bishop, from attending until 1970, and get this to those of you who are fully feminists, according to this guide, women were first admitted to the college as full members only in 1904."

"You sounded like a tour guide or a History teacher just about now." –Zack laughed at him.

"Come on, Zack, no mocking or laughing at the others." –Maddie said, as she zoomed in on the twin's face. –"Now, give me a smile and say what you like more about Ireland?"

"How should I know? I never came here before!" –Zack laughed, shooting one of his usual lame jokes, making them all giggle.

Between laughs and jokes, none of the friends saw the time passing, and soon, they were arriving at their destination. Climbing out of the bus, they saw themselves in the interior of the college campus. Things looked a little crazy with students walking around the place. Most of them were carrying pamphlets and schedules, no doubt freshmen, because sophomores did not need those anymore, given they already knew where to go and how to get there. You could really smell the excitement of the new students in the air; being there for the first time, starting a new chapter in their lives that involved both freedom and responsibility. It was the beginning of something new to them.

As they looked around, almost every member of the Tipton gang allowed itself a moment to think about how their lives would be when they went to college. They all thought how cool it would be to be on their own, while pursuing a future career, hanging out with people who shared not only their tastes and opinions, but also their vision of the world... and even though each one of them would most likely follow a path different from the rest, they knew that it would be an adventure as big as the one they were having right then, if not even bigger and more extraordinary.

"This is so… so… so phenomenal!" –Cody said. –"The perfect place for someone like me to expand my qualities and academic studies." –he stated out loud.

"It is different." –Maddie said. –"Imagine that one year from now we'll be heading to a college like this one, thus leaving high school behind us."

"Yeah, but until then we still have plenty of time to enjoy ourselves." –Anastasia said.

There was an awkward moment of silence between them, which was broken by Zack, who like always felt the need to be the class prankster/ funny kid.

"Okay, so we're here, but what exactly are we here to see? A college is just like any other school, just bigger… if I wanted to see another school, I would have stayed in Boston and visited another of the hundreds of identical schools to our old one." –he smirked, sarcastically.

"Have you already forgotten what I said to the camera about this college, while we were on the bus?" –Mark asked him.

Zack did not answer right away. He tried to remember what Mark said while they we're on the bus, but it was no use. He had completely forgotten about it, and the fact Mark was looking at him with a suspicious look did not help either. Stuttering a little, he said:

"I k-kinda –f-forgot about it." –Zack said, as everyone looked at him with an accusatory look in their eyes. –"You know that when it comes to remembering things I don't consider interesting my brain isn't able to assimilate things, much less remember them."

"You're absolutely incorrigible, Zack Martin…" –Max told her boyfriend in a rather serious tone. – "… but we wouldn't want you any other way." –she stated, this time with a friendlier tone, as she kissed on the cheek.

"Come on, don't do that… you're making me blush…" –Zack laughed, feeling a little embarrassed by that, making the others also laugh.

"Okay, okay, okay…" –Mark said, as he stopped laughing. –"Back on the bus I was talking about this university's history, and, being the oldest university in Ireland, not only is a cool place to visit, but it is also a place where you can see cool things, like that!" –he pointed out to a building West of them.

The building he was pointing to was on the far side of the place they were. It was the Trinity College Library, more precisely the Old Library, which owed its name due to the fact it had been the original building. A huge golden with its name adorned the right wall near the entrance. The building was built by Thomas Burgh, and even today it stood as imposing as ever, surrounded by similar buildings.

"What's so important about a Library?" –Zack asked, as they walked to it.

"Well, let's see." –Mark said as he consulted his travel guide book. As soon as he saw him doing that, Zack cursed himself for opening his big mouth, knowing that Mark was going to lecture him, and with some luck, the others would hep him. –"It says here that the library occupies four different buildings in the campus, being that one there the original building. It has more than six million volumes in its collection and it was founded in 1562. It's also home to one of the most important texts in Irish literature, the Book of Kells."

"And what is the Book of Kells exactly?" –London asked, not having heard about it before.

"The Book of Kells is an illustrated Gospel book, which contains the four Gospels of the New Testament in Latin, London." –Maddie explained to London.

"So, it's a very old Bible, right?"

"No, London." –Maddie let out a small giggle. –"A Bible is the collected texts from both the Old Testament and the New Testament… this one only has the New Testament."

"And it's incredibly beautiful according to the images I saw on the net." –Barbara said, as they all stopped right in front of the entrance, where there was a long line of people assembled there. Among the people, they recognized some of them as students of Tipton' High Sea School, for they were either wearing a scarf or a cap with the school's insignia, or were wearing their school uniforms, which was not a requirement, but there was no rule against using it once outside the ship.

"I wonder if we can take guided tour…"

"I think so, look!" –Cody pointed to a directional board, where it was written: "Guided Visits", with an arrow beneath it.

The line was quite long already, so in order to not wait more than they wanted to, they all went to the back of the line and waited for their turn. While waiting they heard that a new group of 10 people entered in the library escorted by a tour guide every fifteen minutes. Looking at the people that were ahead of them, the gang counted 47 persons, which meant they would stay there for at least 45 minutes, until they could enter.

"Forty-five minutes? Man, this is going to take forever." –Zack grumbled.

"It's only forty-five minutes, not a full day." –Cody told him.

"Don't you know that time seems to slow down when you're waiting for something to happen?" –Zack said tartly. –"Besides, I thought we were going to have breakfast around here."

"Oh, right, we completely forgot about it!" –Anastasia exclaimed.

"But if we get out of the line, we will have to go to the back of the line." –Mark said, as he looked at the amount of people who were already behind them, at least another 20 or 30.

"I know! We'll order!" –London said, as she grabbed her cell phone and accessed the Internet. –"There's got be a coffee shop to delivers around here, we just need to find it."

In no time, London found a bakery which delivered, so she immediately called them and ordered their breakfast, telling them to deliver it to her, and if they hurried, there would be a 200 euros tip. When the person on the phone asked her if that was a prank, she said that it was no prank, that she was really London Tipton.

While they waited, a few people that passed them recognized both Maddie and London. Immediately they approached them and asked them if they could have an autograph or take a photo with them. The girls both smiled as the people praised them for their courage in assuming their relation, saying they were both beautiful and extraordinary. To London that was quite common; she was used to people coming to her to ask for an autograph or a photo, but to Maddie, the blonde was still finding it hard to be the centre of attentions. She liked it; she would be lying if she said it otherwise, but at the same time, It was still so new, even though this had already happened both in New York and a couple of times aboard the S.S. Tipton. It would certainly take a little more time to get used to it, and she knew that this was going to become like a ritual in every town they stopped.

A few minutes later a girl in her early twenties dressed in an uniform from the bakery London had ordered breakfast showed up with a box of donuts, three cappuccinos, and five milkshakes. The girl could not believe that it had been London, the real London Tipton to make the order. Giving them the donuts, the cappuccinos and the milkshakes, London then paid for everything, and just like she promised over the phone, she gave the girl a 200 euros tip.

"Oh, thank you so much." –the girl said. It was the biggest tip she had ever received in her life. –"I must get back to work, but before I go, do you think I could take a photo with you two?"

"Sure, it will be our pleasure, right Maddie?" –London said, as she looked at Maddie who smiled back at her. –"Cody, would you do the honours?" –the heiress asked, as the girl gave the twin her cell phone, who promptly snapped the photo.

After that, the gang enjoyed their breakfast as they waited for their turn to enter the library. The amount and variety of donuts London ordered was immense. From simple to jelly ones, the hard thing was to decide which ones they should try first. As for the drinks, that was an easier task. London, Maddie and Barbara went for the cappuccinos, while the rest of the gang all went for the milkshakes, which were all strawberry flavoured.

"Bwest… breakfwast ever!" –Zack exclaimed with his mouth full.

"Chew your food, Zack!" –Cody said, as he took a bite out of a chocolate covered donut. –"Or else, you're going to choke."

"You're not the bwoss of me…" –Zack replied, as he drank a sip of his milkshake, when he felt a spank on the head. It had been Max who did it.

"You better start chewing your food, not to mention eating slower, because if you start choking, none of us knows how to perform the Heimlich manoeuvre… at least, I don't, so watch it." –Max scolded him.

"Alright, alright, I'll eat slower." –Zack sighed. It was incredible just how Max managed to force Zack do whatever she wanted. The only question remaining was if he did it because he knew he was wrong, or because he did not want hear her complain about it.

While eating her donut Maddie, she got a powdered-sugar moustache, which made London giggle when looking at her.

"What's so funny?" –Maddie asked, not knowing why the heiress was laughing about.

"You." –London said, taking a deep breath, trying not to laugh even harder. –"You got a powdered-sugar moustache from that donut." –the heiress ran her finger over Maddie's upper lip, wiping the powdered sugar, than letting Maddie lick it.

"Well, you're no better. Wipe that milk moustache from your upper lip, because it looks funny on you." –Maddie giggled, as London licked her upper lip and wiped the milk moustache.

While eating their breakfast, they all lost track of time, which was a good thing. When they finished it, it was their turn to enter the library. When they entered, they bought their tickets and were then greeted by an elderly woman, dressed in a white a purple dress, with matching shoes, who introduced herself as their guide.

"Good morning ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls of all ages. My name is Alice and I'll be your guide. If you have any doubts please save them until the end of the tour, and always remember to stick behind me." –she said. –"Let me welcome you all to the Trinity College Library, Dublin and Ireland's largest library. The library first began with the founding of Trinity College in 1592. In 1661, Henry Jones presented it with the famous Book of Kells, which is our most famous manuscript… you'll have the chance to see it a little later. One of our greatest contributors was James Ussher, Archbishop of Armagh between 1625 and 1656, whose most important works were Veterum Epistolarum Hibernicarum Sylloge and Brittanicarum Ecclesiarum Antiquitates, left his valuable library, which comprised several thousand printed books and manuscripts, to the Library. Additionally, his complete works were published by the Library in twenty-four volumes." –she continued to explain, as they went on. –"Then, in 1801, the Library was given legal deposit rights, making it the only library in Ireland to have such rights for the United Kingdom."

As Alice spoke, cameras and cell phones snapped photos of just about everything. Maddie had turned on her camcorder and was recording everything. When they finally reached the library itself, everyone was amazed by what surrounded them. You could say that if they could, everyone's eyes would pop out of their orbits. The double doors opened to reveal the Long Room, the Old Library's main chamber. Just looking at it and all the books that were stored in the bookshelves gave the ones who entered there that that place was no ordinary library, but the ultimate library, a library where all the books in the world were being kept for safekeeping. Mark himself, whispered to Anastasia that the place looked a bit like the Jedi Archive of the Jedi Temple on Star Wars.

"Now that you mention it, it really looks like it." –Anastasia whispered back.

Although there were several people in the room, quietly consulting numerous books that were in the shelves, most of the people inside were tourists, possibly because classes had not started, and so there was no big reason for students to be in there.

"We now enter the Long Room… this room was built between 1712 and 1732 and houses 200,000 of the Library's oldest books. The Long Room is measured at almost 65 metres long, but because of its unique architectural style it seems longer than it is. After it was first built The Long Room had a flat ceiling, shelving for books only on the lower level, and an open gallery. Of course, as you might imagine, in the 1850s the room needed to be expanded as the shelves were filled due to the fact that the Library had been given permission to obtain a free copy of every book that had been published in Ireland and Britain." –Alice explained. –"Finally, in 1860, The Long Room's roof was raised to accommodate an upper gallery. The Long Room is lined with marble busts. This collection of marble busts was formed when 14 busts from the famous sculptor Pieter Scheemakers were acquired by the college."

Pointing to the busts, Alice made everyone turn their heads from left to right and vice-versa, and gaze upon them.

"Many of the busts created are of great philosophers, writers, and men who supported the college. The most popular of all the busts in the collection is of the writer Jonathan Swift, which most of you probably know for his famous novel Gulliver's Travels." –she pointed to the bust in question. –"Oh, and before I forget, the Library also holds one of the last remaining copies of the 1916 Proclamation of the Irish Republic, which was read by Patrick Pearse near the General Post Office on 24 April 1916."

As they advanced, the group saw a beautiful harp on display. Maddie immediately recognized it as being the Trinity College Harp, also known as the Brian Boru's Harp.

"Oh, I see you have an eye for pretty things. Does anyone know what this is?" –Alice asked them.

"It's the Brian Boru's Harp." –Maddie promptly answered, feeling proud of herself for knowing what it was. London was about to tease her, by calling her "know-it all", but instead, she just smiled.

"That is correct, it's the Brian Boru's Harp, although most people know it as the Trinity College Harp. You probably already saw it represented on the obverse of the Irish one euro coin, or perhaps in the Guinness logo." –the tour guide asserted. –"It is an early Irish harp or wire strung cláirseach. It is dated to the 14th or 15th century and, along with the Queen Mary Harp and the Lamont Harp, it is one of the only three surviving medieval Gaelic harps, which makes it very rare and very valuable." –she explained as everyone snapped photos of it. –"It is uncertain who commissioned it, although structural evidence suggests it was made in the 15th century. It is similar in construction and design to the Queen Mary Clarsach in Scotland. It is likely, however, that the harp was made for a member of an important family, for it is skilfully constructed and intricately ornamented. There is also the legend that it once belonged to Brian Boru, High King of Ireland, but it's nothing more than legend, for Brian Boru lived between the 10th and the 11th century. Even so, it is a splendid piece of art and a testament to its magnificent craftsmanship."

The Brian Boru's Harp was quite impressive, but the best was still to come. When they reached the opposite end of the room, there it stood, protected by a glass case, the most valuable, unique, and to some extent, priceless object of that library, the famous Book of Kells. The book itself was composed by four different volumes. Usually only two were on display, but on that particular day, for an unknown reason, the four volumes were on display, two showing a major illustration, while the other two showing typical text pages. It took some cunningness for the whole gang to get in front of the glass case, because everyone wanted to get a good view of the Book of Kells.

"And here it is, the Book of Kells, also known as the Book of Columbia, ladies and gentlemen." –Alice began what was to be a long speech about it. –"It takes its name from the Abbey of Kells, which was its home for centuries. As you can see, the book is an illuminated manuscript Gospel book in Latin, containing the four Gospels of the New Testament together with various prefatory texts and tables, all done in the ancient art of the insular art. It is believed to have been created in a Columban monastery in either Britain or Ireland, although some scholars believe it may have had contributions from various Columban institutions from both Britain and Ireland. It is believed to have been created ca. 800 AD. The text of the Gospels is largely drawn from the Vulgate, although it also includes several passages drawn from the earlier versions of the Bible known as the Vetus Latina. It is a masterwork of Western calligraphy and represents the pinnacle of Insular illumination. It is also widely regarded as Ireland's finest national treasure."

It was then that someone lift its hand to ask a question. Like before, Alice decided to let the person ask the question.

"Excuse me, but what exactly is insular art?"

"That is a good question. The expression derives from the Latin word insula, which means island, referring to both Ireland and England, and it is mainly used to describe the style of decoration of illuminated manuscripts, which are the most numerous type of major surviving objects using the style."

"This woman seems to know just about everything." –Zack whispered to Max with a mocking voice. –"I wonder if I ask her how many pages the books have, if she'll know the answer."

"Why don't you do it? I bet she knows it by heart." –Max challenged him.

"I'll do it… you think I can't? And you know what? I bet she doesn't!" –Zack told her, forgetting about the fact the two of them were now dating, lighting up the flame of their everlasting rivalry. –"Just watch… excuse me! I have a question, how many pages does the Book of Kells have?"

"That is a good question, young man, and the answer is quite simple actually. The book itself is comprised of vellum leaves or folios, which were part of folios folded in half, called bifolios. It has 340 folios, or 680 bifolios if you prefer…"

"This woman knows everything…" –Zack thought to himself, knowing that Max was probably going to make him do something for her, and he probably was not going to like it. –"She's like a walking encyclopaedia."

"Guess I win… and you owe me something."

"And what is that you want…" –Zack asked her. He had not finished that last sentence, when Max kissed him on the lips.

"A simple kiss is enough." –Max giggled, making Zack smile.

Seeing that, Maddie sighed in happiness. She was really happy that Max was making Zack as happy as she was making London. To imagine that the little guy who was always hitting on her, was now in love with a girl who was initially his rival, then turned into one of his best friends, and was now his girlfriend. Shedding a small tear, she once again felt amazed by how quickly things changed.